Fresh Ginger

couscous gf style, some mango salsa and halibut

I have been missing the quickness and versatility of couscous lately. So I decided to try a few things. First, I broke up some GF spaghetti noodles and put them in the spice mill. Not gonna work. Second, I did a search for GF couscous online. There was one recipe and it recommended grinding up some basmati rice. I went with that idea. Threw a 1/2 cup basmati into the spice mill and pulsed until it looked coarse enough. Repeat until you have as much “couscous” as you need. I then threw it in the pot with turmeric (or maybe I used a generic curry powder that has turmeric in it), a shake of red pepper, salt and pepper. Add water or broth and cook for a much shorter time. I didn’t pay attention to how long it took, sorry, but it didn’t take long. Have chopped scallions and cilantro ready to toss in when finished.

I couldn’t just eat couscous, nor was I planning to. I based the whole meal on my craving for some mango salsa and some organic mangoes I found. Yes, these were not grown in Michigan. But it was less fuel than if I went to Mexico for a vacation, although I would rather do that.

Mango salsa:

one peeled and pitted diced mango

minced mild white onion (1/4 of a med onion)

one or two serrano peppers - deseeded to tame the heat

chopped cilantro to taste

salt and lime juice

Of course I couldn’t just eat mango salsa. When I think of mango salsa I think of grilled fish. So we thawed some Trader Joe’s frozen halibut (this stuff is a bargain) and drizzled it with olive oil, salt pepper and I think I put a bit of coriander powder on it.

The rainbow swiss chard has been calling my name from the garden for a while. I was waiting for the leaves to get larger, but that seems unlikely at this point so I just went and picked what I thought to be two serving’s worth from the garden, chopped them up, heated up some olive oil, threw in some garlic and red pepper flakes and then the chard. Add some salt and you are done. All together, it looked like this: